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The Research Process » Planning Non-experimental Research

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

Cambridge spec: 7.8.2

Exam: Paper 2 Section D

How to plan an observation, a questionnaire, an interview or a case study from a scenario
How to bring in ethics, validity and reliability
Two short worked plans
A checklist for each method

You have met the parts of the research process and the main non-experimental methods. In Paper 2 Section D you may be given a new scenario and asked to plan research using one of these methods. Nothing here is a new idea. You apply what you already know to a new situation.

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Start with the scenario

Read the question and underline what is already decided, such as the aim or the method. Do not repeat it. Plan what is missing, and use the details of the scenario (the people, the place and the behaviour) in your answer. A plan that could be about anything will not earn full marks.

Learn this

Whatever the method, a good plan says who or what you study, what you will record, how you will do it step by step, and how you will keep the research ethical, valid and reliable.

Planning an observation

For an observation, make these choices. The methods themselves are explained in Observation as a Research Method, Structured and Unstructured Observations and Covert and Overt Observations.

👁 Setting and type

Say where you observe. Choose structured or unstructured, and covert or overt, and give a reason. Covert observation suits people who might change their behaviour if they knew they were watched.

📝 Recording

For a structured observation, list operationalised behavioural categories and use a tally chart. For an unstructured observation, say you will write notes on what you see.

🕐 When

Say how long you will observe and when, for example the same 20 minutes each day for a week.

👥 Reliability

Use two observers with the same categories and compare their tallies. This checks inter-observer reliability.

Planning a questionnaire or interview

For these methods, plan the questions and the sample. See Questionnaires, Interviews and Open and Closed Questions for the details.

Question types: closed questions and rating scales give data that is easy to count and compare. Open questions give detail. An interview can use follow-up questions.
Question wording: avoid leading questions. Write simple questions that each ask one thing.
Sample: say who you ask, how many, and the sampling technique, such as an opportunity sample or a volunteer sample.
Practical points: for an interview, use the same questions for everyone and plan a quiet, private place. Remember that people may give socially desirable answers.

Planning a case study

A case study looks in depth at one person or a small group. Plan which methods you will use to collect data, such as an interview with the person, an interview with a parent or teacher, an observation and a test. Using several methods and comparing what they show is triangulation. It makes the findings more valid. See Case Studies and Triangulation.

Ethics, validity and reliability

Every plan should show care for these three things, and match them to the scenario.

✅ Ethics

Consent (from the participant and, for children, from a parent too), the right to withdraw, confidentiality, privacy, avoiding harm, and a debrief. For a covert observation, only record behaviour that happens in public.

🎯 Validity

Are you measuring what you say you are? Use clear categories, honest questions and, in a case study, several sources of data.

🔄 Reliability

Would you get the same results again? Use the same questions, the same categories and the same procedure each time. Use two observers or raters.

Worked plan 1: an observation

Question

A researcher wants to find out how pupils behave at the recycling bins in a school corridor. Plan an observation. [4 marks]

Mark-scheme-style points

Use a structured observation with behavioural categories, for example "puts an item in the correct bin", "puts an item in the wrong bin" and "drops litter on the floor" (1).
Record each behaviour on a tally chart for every pupil who uses the bins, for 20 minutes at each break time for five days (1).
Make it covert by watching from a classroom doorway, out of sight of the pupils, so that they do not change their behaviour, and only record what happens in public (1).
Use two observers with the same categories, and compare their tallies to check reliability (1).

Each point says what is done and gives a detail or a reason. Pupils' names are not recorded, which protects confidentiality.

Worked plan 2: a questionnaire

Question

A researcher wants to find out what teenagers think about a new homework app that their school has introduced. Plan a questionnaire. [4 marks]

Mark-scheme-style points

Write closed questions and a rating scale, for example "Rate how easy the app is to use, from 1 (very hard) to 5 (very easy)", so answers can be counted and compared (1).
Add one or two open questions, such as "What is the best thing about the app?", to get detailed opinions (1).
Avoid leading questions, such as "Don't you agree the new app is better?" (1).
Choose a sample of 50 pupils from different year groups, using a volunteer sample, and say that answers are anonymous so that names are not linked to answers (1).

Notice that the plan uses the scenario (a homework app and ease of use) and gives examples of the questions. It does not just say "ask some questions".

Common mistakes

Writing a list of single words such as "categories, sample, ethics". Say what you would do.
Forgetting to name the behavioural categories in an observation. Give examples.
Planning an experiment instead of the method you were asked for.
Writing "it is ethical" without saying how. Name the guideline, such as consent or confidentiality.
Forgetting the scenario. Use its details in every point.

Exam-style question

A researcher wants to find out how pupils use a new quiet room at lunchtime. The researcher decides to use a case study of one pupil, Jamal, who is known to be very shy and never goes in.

(a) Describe how the researcher could collect data for this case study. [2 marks]

(b) Explain one way the researcher could keep the research ethical. [2 marks]

Model answer

(a) The researcher could observe Jamal near the quiet room and record what he does and says (1). The researcher could also interview Jamal, and his teacher or a parent, and compare what they say to the observation, which is triangulation (1).

(b) Get consent from Jamal and from a parent, because he is a child (1). Then keep his name and results confidential, for example by calling him "Pupil A" in the report, so that he cannot be identified (1).

Exam tip

For a case study question, name more than one source of data, such as an observation and an interview, and use the person from the scenario in your answer.

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